[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

I halted on the stoop, the spring breeze lifting my hair and the birds chirping, my bag and Ivy s sword
hanging from my shoulder, my vanity case in one hand and my coat over an arm. At the curb, Jenks was
fiddling with the van s sliding door, opening and closing it like a new toy. The sun glistened in his hair, and
his kids flitted about his head. Heart pounding, I turned.
Framed in the open door, Ivy looked haunted, her usually placid face severe, with panic in her dilated
eyes.  I bought a laptop for you, she said, her eyes dropping as she extended it.
Oh God, she had given me a piece of her security. Thank you, I whispered, unable to breathe as I
accepted it. It was in a leather case, and probably weighed all of three pounds.
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
 It s registered to you, she said, looking at it as I slung it over my free shoulder.  And I already added
you onto my system, so all you have to do is plug in and click. I wrote down a list of local numbers for
the cities you re going to be passing through to dial up with.
 Thank you, I whispered.She had given me a piece of what made her life sane.  Ivy, I ll be back. It
was what Nick had said to me. But I d come back. It wasn t a lie for me.
Impulsively I set my case on the stoop and leaned forward to give her a hug. She froze, and then hugged
me back. The dusky scent of her filled my senses, and I stepped away.
Kisten waited quietly behind her. Only now, seeing Ivy standing there with one arm hanging down and
the other clasped around her middle, did I understand what he d been trying to tell me. She wasn t afraid
for me, she was afraid for herself, that she might slip into old patterns without me there to remind her who
she wanted to be.Just how bad had it been?
Ire flashed through me. Damn it, this wasn t fair. Yeah, I was her friend, but she could take care of
herself!  Ivy, I said,  I don t want to go, but I have to.
 Then go! she exploded, her perfect face creasing in anger and her eyes flashing to black.  I never
asked you to stay!
Motions stiff, she spun with a vamp quickness and yanked open the door to the church. It boomed shut
behind her, and left me blinking. I looked at it, thinking that this wasn t good. No, she hadn t asked me,
but Kisten had.
Kisten picked up my case, and together we went down the stairs, my laces flapping. Nearing the van, I
awkwardly dug in my shoulder bag for the keys, then hesitated by the driver s side door when I
remembered Kisten hadn t yet given them to me. They jingled as he held them out. From inside the van
came the excited shrieks of pixies.  You ll keep an eye on her? I asked him.
 Scout s honor. His blue eyes were pinched from more than the sun.  I m taking some time off.
Jenks came from around the front of the van, silently taking my coat, vanity bag, and the sword the last
bringing a growl of anticipation from him. I waited until I heard the sliding door shut, then slumped at the
sound of Jenks s passenger-side door closing.
 Kisten, I said, feeling a twinge of guilt.  She s a grown woman. Why are we treating her like an
invalid?
He reached out and took my shoulders.  Because she is. Because Piscary can drop into her mind and
force her to do just about anything, and it kills a piece of her every time he does. Because he has filled
her with his own blood lust, making her do things she doesn t want to do. Because she is trying to run his
illegal businesses out of a sense of duty and maintain her share of your runner firm out of a sense of love.
 Yeah. That s what I thought. My lips pressed together and I straightened.  I never said I would stay in
the church, much less Cincinnati. Keeping her together is not my job!
 You re right, he said calmly,  but it happened.
 But it shouldn t have. Damn it, Kisten, all I wanted to do was help her!
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
 You have, he said, kissing my forehead.  She ll be fine. But Ivy making you her lodestone wouldn t
have evolved if you hadn t let it, and you know it.
My shoulders slumped. Swell, just what I needed: guilt. The breeze shifted his bangs, and I hesitated,
looking at the oak door between Ivy and me.  How bad was it? I whispered.
Kisten s face lost all emotion.  Piscary&  He exhaled.  Piscary worked her over so well those first few
years that her parents sent her away for her last two years of high school, hoping he would lose interest.
She came back even more confused, thanks to Skimmer. His eyes narrowed in an old anger, still potent.
 That woman could have saved Ivy with her love, but she was so driven by the urge for better blood,
hotter sex, that she sent Ivy deeper.
I felt cold, the breeze shifting my curls. I d known this, but there was obviously more.
Seeing my unease, Kisten frowned.  When she returned, Piscary played on her new vulnerabilities,
lapping up her misery when he rewarded her for behavior that went contrary to what she wanted to
believe. Eventually she abandoned everything to keep from going insane, turning herself off and letting
Piscary make her into whatever he wanted. She started hurting people she loved when they were at their
most vulnerable, and when they abandoned her, she started enticing innocents.
Dropping his eyes, Kisten looked to his bare feet. I knew he was one of the people she had hurt, and I
could tell he felt guilty for leaving her.  You couldn t do anything, I said, and his head jerked up, anger in
his eyes.
 It was bad, Rachel, he said.  I should have done something. Instead, I turned my back on her and [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]